


Temporary Condition

by Atanih88



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe, First Time, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-09
Updated: 2011-10-09
Packaged: 2017-10-24 11:07:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/262770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atanih88/pseuds/Atanih88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Giving up is what makes defeat permanent, but it helps when someone shows up to make sure that you don’t. Even if the circumstances are... unusual.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Temporary Condition

**Author's Note:**

> Written for meicdon13 at 7thnight_smut. Oh dear god lol, this has been a rollercoaster! The title is based on a quote by Marilyn vos Savant which I thought was appropriate and which has also been used to churn out the summary.

Gojyo stopped in front of his house and stared.

It was dark. The lingering blue clashed with the charcoal clouds over the city, squeezing out rain like it was the last chance they’d ever get. Despite the fact that his jeans were soaked and clinging, Gojyo stood there for a bit longer. The wind tugged at the hood he had over his head, his only protection from the downpour and flimsy at that. The take away bag was swinging to and fro with the wind, the container inside hitting the side of his leg hard enough that the spot would probably be a little sore later on.

At that moment he could have cared less.

There was someone slumped on his doorstep. The only reason why Gojyo didn’t just think ‘there’s a dead body on my doorstep’ was because he was pretty sure a ‘dead body’ wouldn’t be shivering like that.

Gojyo couldn’t see the person’s face with the wad of hair covering it. It spilled out onto the floor, clinging to its rain slicked surface and rippling with the water pouring from one step to the other. It looked dirty grey under the street lights.

He wasn’t sure how long he would’ve stood there like an idiot just staring, if the shivering hadn’t suddenly stopped, a peculiar stillness taking over the person’s entire body. Then Gojyo caught the shift of an arm, of the head—he realised that _they_ had realised he was there.

The person opened their eyes and Gojyo locked his attention on them.

Even through the rain Gojyo noticed the gleam of the stree lights reflected in them. Gojyo got the impression they were the colour of whiskey.

It was only when those eyes drifted closed that Gojyo was spurred into movement.

“What the hell man...” he muttered it under his breath as he closed the distance to the steps in three big strides.

His fingers felt numbed as he caught the person around the waist and grunted at the unexpected weight that made turning them around not so easy.

The long hair clung to a lean well defined cheek. The eyes were closed and the shivering had stopped altogether. That sent alarm bells ringing and he brushed the hair away from the smooth cheek with a rough hand.

A guy. It was a guy.

And the guy’s skin was disturbingly lacking in warmth. It was like touching something without any blood beating into circulation underneath. Gojyo fumbled for his phone to call for help even as he tugged the dead weight of the guy against him. He winced as the guy’s head hit his collarbone. His fingers closed over his phone and tugged it out of his pocket.

“Man, I don’t need this shit.”

Gojyo pressed the automatic dial to the first number on his phone.

It had been a while.

And he was going to get lectured.

“ _Shit._ ”

~

There was silence as Hakkai got to his feet at Gojyo’s bedside. Gojyo sat on the chair next to the window, watching as Hakkai moved over to the chest of drawers on the other side, pulling off the latex gloves as he went.

The window was open, allowing rain scented air to sweep into the room every now and then. Despite that Gojyo didn’t feel cold. He lit a cigarette, took a drag and turned to blow it out the window.

“This... is an interesting situation.” Hakkai spoke into the silence.

Gojyo grunted but didn’t turn to face him either. He heard the creak of the floor boards as Hakkai leaned back against the window sill and crossing his arms over his chest, sighed.

“Well at least it’s nice to see you without your usual companions.”

At that Gojyo let his eyes flick up to Hakkai’s face and then away again.

The headlights of a passing car covered them both in a brief strip of bright yellow, the purr of the car engine and wet crunch of the wheels loud in their ears before it slipped away, taking the unnatural light with it.

Finally Gojyo spoke. “Well? What’s wrong with him?”

Hakkai watched Gojyo quietly for a few seconds, his usually sharp gaze even sharper. The silence which had been tense to begin with seemed to tighten even more in those extra beats of quiet—then it slipped. It was as if a belt had been holding it and now it loosened. All that spilled out was Hakkai’s sigh.

Hakkai adjusted his glasses before glancing at the figure that only a few hours before he and Gojyo had managed to wrestle into clothes and tuck into Gojyo’s bed.

“I’m not sure. Exhaustion and a severe case of flu seem to be the worst case scenario and the only things that point to his collapse. His temperature is up and down but otherwise his vitals are good.”

“Great. Then maybe he’ll wake up soon and get his ass out of my bed.”

Hakkai’s mouth twitched. “You seem... healthier yourself Gojyo. He last time we spoke I don’t think we understood each other very well.” Despite the seemingly polite tone, Gojyo could hear the underlying seriousness of the comment. He couldn’t do more than shrug at it though.

“In fact I didn’t expect you to contact any of us again.”

Feeling restless all of a sudden, Gojyo curbed his instinctive urge to head to the fridge and whip out a beer. He was mostly successful because he knew it would be empty. He’d cleaned it out three weeks ago and so far he’d managed to keep it that way. Not even food. So instead he strode to the ash tray on the bedside table and crushed the cigarette out.

“You didn’t have to come.” He mumbled.

As always Hakkai didn’t rise to the bait. He watched Gojyo from where he stood until Gojyo was sure he could feel his eyes boring into the back of his skull.

“Friends come when they are needed Gojyo. It would do you good to remember that more often.”

Gojyo let his shoulders slack under the now familiar emotion of guilt and he shrugged before running a hand through his hair, shoving it off his face. He could see the kid’s face properly now. His hair was a mess, spread all over Gojyo’s bed like vines trying to stake their claim on their property. The kid’s chest rose and fell to the soft quietness of even breaths.

“Yeah...” he said at last.

“How long?”

Gojyo glanced at Hakkai. He swallowed, slipped his hands into his pockets and had to struggle for a bit to unlock his jaw. He could feel a muscle ticking there. “Three weeks.”

Outside the rain started up again, slow at first and then a bit faster. After a few seconds, the smell of it filled the room, cool and fresh.

Gojyo stared down at the kid’s face, wondering if the striking features would be as surprising in the light. “Guess he’ll have to stay overnight.” He said, frowning.

Hakkai made a humming sound in agreement and Gojyo heard him make his way back to the bed side. Hakkai stopped beside Gojyo and looked down at the kid. “Yes, perhaps a little longer. I think he will sleep for a while. Maybe when he wakes up we can find out who he is and take him home.”

 _We_. It’d been a long time since Gojyo had heard that one. No one’s fault but his own really. Gojyo rocked back on his feels and took in the unexpectedly regal features of the guy lying on his bed. The kid couldn’t be more than eighteen, nineteen tops. There was something odd here. Not the kid—well not that the situation wasn’t a little fucked up—but, something felt unsettled as Gojyo stood there looking down at him.

 _Whatever_. He looked away and rubbed his palm over his face, frowned again when he felt the prickle of stubble scratch his skin. How long had it been since he’d shaved? He was tired too and he just wanted to slump onto the shitty sofa in the living room and sleep.

“I’ll come over and check on him again.”

The hand on his shoulder was what made him turn back to Hakkai, but this time Gojyo met his gaze properly. Hakkai smiled at him, a small smile that if it hadn’t come from Hakkai, Gojyo would’ve classed as sheepish. Hakkai rarely did sheepish.

“It’s interesting that it took finding a body on your doorstep for you to let us know you’re fine. Try to find more conventional ways next time Gojyo.”

At that Gojyo felt the unexpected happen.

A small smile curved his mouth and when he lowered his head to try and hide it, a small chuckle escaped as he kicked at the floor. He pushed Hakkai away without looking, the gesture a familiar and playful one. “Shut up. The body is still here you know.” He pointed out, unable to keep the wry edge from his tone.

Despite the unusual situation Gojyo felt relief; relief that this could still happen, this ease. It had been too long.

Hakkai sighed this time and they both glanced back down at the kid on the bed.

The relief that Gojyo had felt just a few seconds before, receded and the odd feeling from earlier returned. It was like a clenching in his stomach or maybe a tenseness that he didn’t understand the cause of. It didn’t make sense. He’d never seen the kid before.

“So what now?” He asked.

Hakkai reached down and touched his patient’s forehead, fingers gentle as he touched the back of them to the damp skin. “He rests, you watch him and we wait.”

“Right...”

Hakkai sounded a bit too cheerful as he straightened up from the bed again. He turned to Gojyo with one of his tight smiles and closed eyes. “Right.”

~

Despite wanting to get to bed Gojyo ended up uncapping the only thing on his fridge—water—and getting his carving tools out. It had been a while since he had done anything, or even felt like doing anything but restlessness was nipping at his heels and after lying on his back on the sofa for about half an hour and listening to the sound of a stranger breathing into the silence of his apartment, Gojyo had given up.

He glared up at the kitchen light, the almost neon quality of it hitting him right on the face and making him squint.

Outside the apartment the rain which had never quite stopped picked up again, joined by the whistle of wind as it swept past his windows.

He’d checked on the kid a few times already and he seemed to be sleeping fine although his temperature was still high. The fact that it hadn’t gotten any higher was the only thing that had kept him from calling Hakkai again.

Gojyo unrolled the tools cloth, started picking through them—grimacing and setting one aside every time he saw one that needed serious sharpening and cleaning. It had been a year since he’d touched them. There were still some useable ones; it wasn’t like he was going to be working on anything big just now anyway. For the moment this was just something to pass the time.

He glanced at the clock over the kitchen counter. Just about ten past two.  
Everything set out, Gojyo got out a cigarette, sat down and stared at the things spread over the small round table—realised he’d forgotten to bring the ash tray with him but opted for jerking out a cup instead of going back to the room to get it. The pad lay open on the table next to his tools, the pencil on top of it. It made the blankness seem a little more taunting than it should have.

Gojyo stared at it and drew on his cigarette. The clock was ticking, the sound clinical. It told him time was passing and nothing was getting done. As Gojyo smoked the last of his cigarette, the buzz of the kitchen light had insinuated itself into the rhythm of the clock’s ticking. He reached for the water bottle—needing something to keep him from thinking about the twenty-four hour store just ten minutes from his place—picked up the pencil and forced himself to start putting something on paper. Anything. It didn’t have to be anything in particular. As long as there was something. It was a while before the scritch of pencil on paper became soothing. But it was easier to slip back into it than he had thought.

Gojyo wasn’t sure how much time had passed after he’d started when he heard a noise behind him.

He was bent over the table, shoulders hunched and his face just a few inches from the paper when he heard the sound of bare feet brushing against the wooden floor. He stilled, listening out for it until he heard it again.

He turned and looked over his shoulder and saw the kid standing there.

He still didn’t look all that great. Gojyo’s t-shirt was a little too loose on him as were the shorts they’d put him in earlier. The clothes didn’t suit him at all. Even in the fevered state that he was still in, he stood straight, his head held high as he rested a hand on the doorframe and stared right at Gojyo. His hair was clinging to the sides of his face, his throat. His skin had that sheen of sweat that usually came from a fever; sticky and uncomfortable.

Gojyo set the pencil down and the chair scraped loudly on the floor as he stood up. “Hey man--you alright?”

Watered down whiskey, Gojyo corrected himself in his head. The kid’s eyes were the colour of watered down whiskey. And his hair, still dampened, gleamed a pale colour that could almost be mistaken for white or silver even under the harsh light of Gojyo’s kitchen. The kid was a looker that was for sure.

At Gojyo’s words his eyes narrowed and his brows dipped down as if he hadn’t really understood him, but then a few seconds later he was walking towards him, a little unsteady but otherwise making it okay, until he was standing in front of Gojyo. His expression was serious.

This close up Gojyo could practically feel the heat emanating from him and he could see that his lips were dry enough to be in danger of cracking. What the hell was he meant to do? Give him some water or something? Hakkai hadn’t left any particular instructions other than letting him rest and checking to make sure he didn’t worsen.

“Hey, how about we get you to bed and then maybe something to drink—” Gojyo stopped talking.

The kid touched a hand to Gojyo’s cheek. His hand was damp and burning against Gojyo’s skin but it moulded itself to Gojyo’s cheek gently. That pale hair swung to one side as the kid tilted his head to the side, his mouth softening in a way that made Gojyo think he was going to smile, but the smile never came.

He wasn’t that much shorter than Gojyo, probably just a few inches so Gojyo didn’t have to look a long way down at him. The kid would probably gain the last few inches in another few months.

“I’ve found you.”

Gojyo stared at him, for some reason shocked by the sound of that voice. Smooth and cool, it fit well with the sound of the rain outside.

 _Found me?_

As Gojyo puzzled over that one and wondered if it was just delirium talking, the hand on his cheek slid to the back of his head like it was the most natural thing in the world. It was only when the too-dry lips pressed a quiet kiss on his mouth that Gojyo realised what the hell was happening. He stiffened for a second, eyes blurring as he stared at him—but then his hands came up, catching slim shoulders. That was as far as he got though. There was no time to push him back because the next thing Gojyo knew, the kid’s dead weight was coming down against him hard. He grunted and felt the kid’s head slam into his chest and shifted his grip so that he could wrap an arm around his waist and keep them both up.

The silence seemed to rush back. The ticking of the clock, the buzz of the light. The rain.

Gojyo wrapped his other arm around the kid’s waist and wondered which way would be best to get the kid back in the room.

It didn’t take him long to get him back to the bed and tucked in. Gojyo pulled the sheets up around him even though he knew he probably wouldn’t welcome the extra heat. Then he just sat down on the chair in the room.

He brushed his fingers over his lips, still a little stumped by what had just happened.

Delirious. The kid had definitely been delirious.

Gojyo scooted down lower in the chair, practically sprawled on it.

It was late and he wasn’t going to get anything else on paper after being interrupted. So he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Maybe now he could doze off a little.

Gojyo fell asleep thinking about the lingering heat that someone else’s body had left on him.

~

Gojyo waited for Hakkai to come out of the room.

He’d woken up early. After falling asleep on the chair he hadn’t gotten up again but sometime around eight he’d come to. Maybe it had been the crick that had started to form on his neck from the straight backed chair. Or maybe it had been the strange dreams which he could vaguely remember. All he remembered really was that it had been unusual, but the dream itself was lost on him. He’d opened his eyes though, to find the kid sitting up in bed, his back to the wall and covers over his lap. He’d been watching Gojyo.

After a few seconds of staring at each other with nothing being said, Gojyo had gotten up.

“Want anything to eat?” He’d asked, already turning to leave the room and go wash his face.

When no reply came he’d paused at the door and glanced back. Again those eyes had been trained on him, making Gojyo feel, not uncomfortable but—alert. There was something about the kid that made him alert. Maybe it was just the fact that it was a strange guy in his house and he didn’t feel comfortable with that. But Gojyo didn’t think that was it. Gojyo had stayed quiet and waited, surprised when the dream he didn’t remember came to mind again.

Then the kid had nodded and murmured a quiet ‘please’.

They hadn’t spoken since.

Gojyo looked up from his work as Hakkai came back into the kitchen with a smile.

“Well, I think he’s fine for now.”

Gojyo leaned back in his chair and reached for his cigarettes. “Yeah?”

“Yes, just make sure he eats and has loads of fluids, he should be fine in a day or two.”

“Huh.” Gojyo lit the cigarette and then turned in his chair to fully face Hakkai. “Did he say anything?”

Hakkai gave a small shrug of his shoulder as he pulled his jacket and case from where he’d left them on a chair next to Gojyo earlier. “Other than ‘thank you’ he didn’t say much, no. Which is just as well, he’s better off eating his food and resting than talking a mile a minute. Although,” he flicked a glance in Gojyo’s direction, a bit of a warning tone slipping into his words, “it would be best to find out who he is. Both for our benefit as well as his.”

Gojyo grinned before he could help it. “Aww, worried about me Hakkai?”

Hakkai arched an eyebrow at that and picked up his case. “Do you blame me?”

Gojyo snorted and looked away. “Yeah, yeah. Well I’m sure the kid’s harmless.” At the sharp look Hakkai threw him, he added, “But don’t worry, I’ll see what I can find out.”

“Very well then. I’ll be off and will try to see if I can make time to call in later. Keep an eye on him.”

Gojyo waved him away. “No worries man, get the hell out of here. Don’t want your pretty record ruined on my account.”

“Yes Gojyo.”

Gojyo watched Hakkai leave the kitchen and waited until he heard the outside door close before sighing and turning back to the round circle of wood in front of him. He was surprised Hakkai hadn’t commented on the mess. There were splinters of wood littering the entire surface of the table. On the thick slab of wood, a shape that was still in the too-early stage wouldn’t seem to anyone but Gojyo, anything more than a dented piece.

Gojyo frowned down at it. It had been too long and he was out of practice but he was sure he could still come up with something decent.

It had only been a few minutes since Hakkai had gone and Gojyo was still contemplating his piece when that same sound from the night before broke the silence. The soft careful footsteps of someone used to walking with grace.

Gojyo turned to look at the doorway and sure enough the kid was there. Bare foot again. Gojyo winced as he realised the bitching he’d hear from Hakkai if he found out the kid was walking around like that in his state.

He was holding the soup bowl in his hand which Gojyo assumed was empty.

“Hey man, how you feeling?” Gojyo stood up, meaning to go and get the bowl from him and maybe refill it or something, but before he could take a step the kid was crossing over the kitchen himself. He really did walk like he owned the place. Gojyo sat back down and watched him. There was no arrogance about it, more like calmness that had anyone else been in the same situation, Gojyo was sure it wouldn’t have been present.

He watched, feeling a little curious as the kid stopped in the middle of the kitchen looking a little bit lost. It was just a small hesitation and then he saw the pot on the stove and started towards it.

As the kid served himself another helping, Gojyo noted that his skin looked better than it had the night before. Less clammy, a healthier colour. His hair—Gojyo looked down the length of it—had been worked into a loose plait which was coming loose at the edges withuot something holding it together. It actually brushed past his hips. Kind of pretty too.

After helping himself to another bowl, he padded over to the table and set his bowl down, mindful of the wood littering it.

“Er, hold on,” Gojyo said, he stood up and went and got a cloth to wipe all the mess towards his end of the table, knowing the kid was watching him from those eyes. They hadn’t changed colour with the disappearance of the fever. Gojyo felt a little glad though. He liked the colour.

After wiping the other side of the table clean, Gojyo went and got a bottle of water from the fridge and set it down next to the soup before retaking his seat.

The kid didn’t seem to have any trouble looking at him which meant that he either didn’t remember that he’d planted one on Gojyo, or that he just didn’t feel particularly fussed about it.

“Thank you.”

That quiet tone again. Gojyo’s mouth itched for another cigarette but he didn’t want to when the kid was eating. He shrugged it. “No problem. If you want, to grab a shower afterwards you can borrow some more of my clothes.”

The kid didn’t reply to that, instead he just spooned some of the soup and resumed eating. He carried on like that, eating quietly, just the scrape of his spoon on the bowl filling the room. When he was finished he left the spoon in the bowl and then looked up at Gojyo. What he said wasn’t something that Gojyo expected to hear.

“You don’t remember me.”

Gojyo blinked at him, for a moment stumped. So he settled for saying something intelligent. “Hah?”

“You don’t remember me.” The kid said again.

Gojyo frowned. “That’s because we’ve never met man.”

The kid seemed to go still at that, not blinking or glancing anywhere else but at Gojyo. Again, that odd feeling that this reminded Gojyo of something in his dream came over him.  
“My name is Hakuryuu.” He said instead.

Gojyo nodded. “Gojyo.”

At that Hakuryuu’s mouth twitched at the corner, as if he wanted to smile but was repressing it. What was so funny about what Gojyo had said though, Gojyo didn’t know.

“Am I imposing?”

Gojyo sighed and sank a little lower in his chair—thought what-the-hell—and reached for his cigarettes. “Get some more rest. We’ll talk about you imposing tomorrow.”

And at that Hakuryuu inclined his head at him and stood up. “In that case, thank you for the meal.”

Gojyo watched him walk back to the room, wondering what exactly had happened there. He didn’t think anything had. But it felt like it.

When Gojyo went in to check on him an hour later, the kid— _Hakuryuu¬_ , was still sleeping.

Gojyo kept his eye on him for a little longer, watching the slow normal breathing of sleep. Again the dream tugged at the corners of his memory as he watched Hakuryuu sleeping, but he couldn’t for the life of him pin anything down.

He went back to his work.

He’d already realised though, that whatever he _had_ dreamt of, had definitely been related to the person sleeping in his bed.

~

“You look... older.”

Gojyo paused outside of the bathroom, towel still rubbing at his hair to find Hakuryuu looking up at him from the sofa. He was sitting in it, legs crossed Indian style as he looked up at Gojyo.

“What?”

It had been a week and Hakuryuu had been quiet and kept to himself. Except for when he came out with things like this which just made Gojyo feel a general sense of what-the-fuck. Not that he minded; it had been interesting having company the past week. Hakkai had been coming by every day to check on Hakuryuu and even Goku and his tight-ass man had called to check on him. It had been a week of _different_.

The dreams had been different too. He just couldn’t remember them all that much. The only thing Gojyo was sure about was that they seemed to revolve around the kid sitting in front of him.

Hakuryuu liked watching Gojyo and Gojyo wasn’t so sure why he still didn’t find that creepy. Odd yes, creepy, no. The first time Hakuryuu had caught Gojyo coming out of a shower with no shirt on it had been an interesting reaction. He’d zeroed in on Gojyo’s chest like it was something he’d never seen before. Or more like something he _had_ seen before. He’d gotten this spooked expression on his face and then had turned away. Gojyo had noticed that his hands had been bunched into tight fists and he hadn’t looked straight at Gojyo again for a while after. Hence the reason why Gojyo was now wearing a shirt.

And now this.

Gojyo sighed and pulled the towel onto his shoulders, the heated dampness of it seeping through the thin material of his shirt.

“Before. In our other life—”

This was another thing; the kid seemed to think that they knew each other from another life and had hinted at the fact that ending up passed out on Gojyo’s doorstep hadn’t been an accident. Though apparently, he hadn’t intended to pass out there.

“You didn’t seem so human.”

Gojyo arched a brow at that. What the hell did that mean? “What was I, an alien?”

Hakuryuu frowned and Gojyo didn’t realise that the expression had drawn his eyes to Hakuryuu’s mouth. It was pretty too, like almost everything else about him. Gojyo didn’t think he’d ever seen such a good looking man—up close, none of that TV crap—ever before. There was Hakkai, but even Hakkai didn’t compare to this. And Hakkai didn’t make him dream either or make him wonder what it’d be like to just touch—

Gojyo picked up the end of the towel and scrubbed at his face with it, a little extreme for someone who just wanted to wipe off the water falling from his hair onto his face.

“No. But neither were we human.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You didn’t look so worn... by _life_ then. Even though,” Hakuryuu’s voice became quieter, as if he were now talking to himself rather than to Gojyo, “there were a lot of things that we couldn’t change that should’ve taken a toll on you but never did.”

Gojyo lowered the towel and peered over it to see Hakuryuu staring at the floor, his eyes unfocused. He wasn’t really seeing anything other than the memories—or what he thought were memories—somewhere in his mind.

“Not on any one of you. You were always head strong even when there were other paths you could take. But again, that went for all of you.”

Gojyo saw the hint of a smile touch Hakuryuu’s mouth and was surprised by the low feeling of pleasure that grew in him at it. For a moment there, he thought that he wouldn’t have minded putting that smile on his face. Even if the kid _was_ bat-shit insane.

“Is that right?” Gojyo asked and went to go sit next to him, curious despite the strong disbelief that this could have ever happened.

Worn by life huh? Well at least that part was true. Gojyo wondered if maybe if he’d shaved off the stubble, if he would’ve looked less worn to Hakuryuu. Then he wondered about what the hell he was thinking even looking at things that way.

“That’s some imagination you have there.” Gojyo said, leaning back against the sofa and letting his eyes close. “You should lend me some of it sometime, you know—so I can use it in my work. Maybe I’d churn stuff out faster.”

It took a few seconds for Gojyo to realise that he was implying they’d be seeing each other after Hakuryuu left. Now when had _that_ happened? He still didn’t know much about the kid although Hakkai had implied he’d gotten some information after they’d found out Hakuryuu’s name. They just hadn’t had the chance to discuss it with Hakuryuu around.

“You’re so sure that’s what it is?” Hakuryuu asked.

The sofa shifted.

Gojyo opened his eyes when he felt Hakuryuu’s knee press against his thigh. He stared up into Hakuryuu’s face as Hakuryuu placed a hand either side of Gojyo’s head, closing him in between his body and the sofa.

Gojyo thought that Hakuryuu smelled both familiar and foreign. He was wearing Gojyo’s clothes and had been using his soap and shampoo so he smelled familiar in that sense. And for some reason Gojyo found he liked that. He swallowed as he realised that his smell on Hakuryuu made him think of other things too.

Hakuryuu leaned closer. Gojyo made no move to push him away. The softness of warm breath touching his mouth was pleasant and he found that he’d let go of one end of his towel to reach up and place his hand on Hakuryuu’s side, watching in fascination as Hakuryuu’s nostrils flared and his body stiffened underneath Gojyo’s hand. Hakuryuu’s eyes closed and he breathed in deep as if he were trying to control something.

The rain. That’s what Hakuryuu smelled like underneath Gojyo’s scent. Like he’d bathed himself in rain over and over again.

Then Gojyo forgot about that when without opening his eyes, Hakuryuu closed the small gap between them, the same way he had a week ago, and pressed mouth to Gojyo’s.

It was different this time. It felt different.

Hakuryuu’s mouth was soft, the dryness of fever gone and leaving only a plump fullness that made Gojyo sink into the sofa behind him and press back.

The hand he had on Hakuryuu moved to the back of his neck to hold him in place even as he felt the brush of a warm tongue over his lower lip. He shuddered himself, a small movement which Hakuryuu felt and liked because he made a small noise and swung his other leg over to Gojyo’s other side, settling himself on Gojyo’s lap and crowding close. He moved his hands from the sofa to Gojyo’s shoulders.

The fact that Gojyo was pinned under Hakuryuu wasn’t really an excuse for his staying in place when that same tongue pushed past his lips and opened his mouth. No. Gojyo wasn’t even thinking of excuses right then. He was surrounded by that mixture of scents and his arms were pulling Hakuryuu closer so that his warmth was imprinting itself through his t-shirt.

Hakuryuu’s hands moved to clench his damp hair and Gojyo opened his mouth wider, letting the kiss slide into something deeper. He felt the pleasure settle low in his stomach and shifted, making himself more comfortable, settling Hakuryuu more comfortably over his cock which was starting to show enjoyment too.

And then things got confusing.

It was as if suddenly the sensations of tongue over tongue, the friction of their bodies together overlapped with something that was the same and yet not. Everything about became familiar, as if he’d done this so many times before but knew instinctively something was different about it now. The body against his, had been different. The same but different. Heavier, leaner, more confident in its movements. The mouth just a little firmer but it had the same determination as the one deepening their kisses right now. The hands had been calloused and sure, commanding and there was a hint of that in the ones on him now.

Hakuryuu murmured something against him. Gojyo didn’t catch anything except for a soft “... _ren_...” at the end.

But the smell. God the smell.

Gojyo breathed it in deep and tugged Hakuryuu closer.

The smell was exactly the same.

Gojyo groaned, arousal and confused thoughts meshing together. He tried pulling away, a groan leaving his mouth, an equal but frustrated one leaving Hakuryuu’s—and turned his face away from the kiss. He shivered at the hot wet brush of Hakuryuu’s mouth against his cheek and for a second his hands refused to release their hold on him.

But then the overlap of feeling—and memories?—came back and Gojyo swore under his breath and forced himself to push Hakuryuu off of him. He pulled the towel that in the frenzy was practically falling off of his shoulders and turned his back on Hakuryuu.

Shit. He’d caught a glimpse of Hakuryuu’s mouth and those fucking eyes. Lips all swollen and eyes feverish, a touch of a flush on Hakuryuu’s face which had nothing to do with a fever. Not that kind of fever anyway.

“Look—I have to go. I have to meet with Hakkai. Get something to eat,” he took a deep breath, trying to clear the hoarseness from his voice. “I’ll be back later.” Then he walked away, steps fast and sharp. He was still breathing hard as he closed the bedroom door behind him.

Gojyo leaned back against it and for a moment just stared up at the ceiling.

“What the hell man...” he murmured. Thumped his head back against the wood once for good measure.

Then he looked down at himself and his shoulders sagged.

He’d have to take care of that before he even thought of stepping outside.

The worst thing was he now knew what he’d been dreaming about since Hakuryuu had chosen to pass out on his doorstep.

~

“Hmm... well, and did you recognise him?”

Gojyo stared across the table at Hakkai, watching as he dabbed at his mouth carefully with a napkin before linking his hands together and smiling at Gojyo.

“You’re kidding right?”

Hakkai shrugged and then leaned back in his chair. Hakkai didn’t notice the drooling looks the waitresses were sending his way as he adjusted his glasses and shook his head at Gojyo. Hakkai flicked a look at how he was sitting and a small frown touched his face. “Gojyo...”

Gojyo resisted the urge to roll his eyes and sat up, scooting back and looking away long enough to grin at another diner who had her eyes on the strip of skin he’d been displaying. Gojyo didn’t have issues with attention although Hakkai had made it clear more than once how he felt about Gojyo’s behaviour.

“So Hakuryuu...?” Hakkai prompted, mouth twitching at the corners as if he were trying hard not to laugh.

Gojyo scowled at him and reached for his water. “I don’t know Hakkai. He doesn’t seem like the type who’d pull this off for a joke.” He muttered. He flicked a look at Hakkai as he took a gulp of the water. He wished it was a beer instead but he knew what that road would lead to. “He seems too... refined,” he said wryly, “like some people I know,” he said nodding over at Hakkai, “to pull off something like that.”

“Hmm yes but,” Hakkai hooked an arm around the back of his chair and crossed his legs, smiling a thank you as a waiter stopped by and topped up his glass, “it does make you wonder.”

Gojyo sighed and looked out the huge windows covering theside of the restaurant like a wall. The sky looked ready to start pouring down again. It had been a crappy week weather-wise. But for some reason Gojyo didn’t mind the rain as much as he’d used to and he wondered if that had to do with the fact that he now associated rain with something else entirely. Like those dreams. And Hakuryuu.

Gojyo frowned and tapped his fingers against the glass of water. Had he imagined what had happened when Hakuryuu had kissed him? Or had he really felt like those were memories coming to life?

It was only when he noticed that Hakkai was staring at him expectantly that Gojyo realised he’d missed something Hakkai had said.

“Er... sorry.”

Hakkai smiled again, this time a tight smile that let Gojyo know he didn’t appreciate being ignored. “I _said_ I am sure that he means no harm. But this... continuous idea that you know each other from a past life is... _intriguing_.”

Gojyo arched a brow at that. Only Hakkai would describe it that way. “You think?”

Hakkai shrugged and the smile faded. “But you told me just now that something changed when he kissed you again. Were you exaggerating?”

Gojyo shook his head. He pushed his hair back from his face again and sank a little deeper into his seat—earning himself a glare from Hakkai—and studied the table through his glass of water, eyes taking in the distortion.

Hakkai sighed. “I must admit that I did do a little more checking than was necessary.”

Gojyo looked up at Hakkai. “What do you mean?”

“Hakuryuu is the son of a wealthy family, nothing too major but enough that if anything was out of the ordinary he would be surrounded by a team of specialists.” Hakkai’s smile was cold. “But that doesn’t seem to be the case so we can safely assume he’s not insane. They also don’t seem to be too bothered at the fact that their son has gone missing.” Hakkai shrugged. “From what I was told, they don’t seem too concerned about him full stop.”

“Yeah...” Gojyo didn’t understand why that lit a small touch of anger in his stomach and he sat up to see if it would just wash away.

“Despite that, he’s well enough to go home now Gojyo. He was recovered several days before and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t return to his home.”

And again, Gojyo felt a little stupid. Because something in him really didn’t like the sound of that either.

“Maybe also, some time away from him might help ease the confusion about this situation. And if you really did feel something different, like you feel was the case today—then maybe you could pursue it then.”

Gojyo didn’t say anything. He stared at the glass in front of him. In the end all he said was, “But he’s a kid.”

Hakkai smiled. “I don’t think he is. And after today, I don’t think you do either.”

When Gojyo arrived home a few hours later, he found that their positions were now reversed as the first thing he encountered on arrival, was the sight of a half naked Hakuryuu about to walk into his bedroom.

God.

Gojyo shut the door behind him and looked away from him as fast as his clinging eyes would allow. Still, Gojyo felt like the image of that smooth back littered with drops of water was burned into his mind’s eye. And Hakuryuu had wrapped that towel really low on his hips. Gojyo had seen the way it had hung low enough for him to get a glimpse of a the V leading down to—

Yeah just stop thinking about that why you don’t you, he told himself. His hand was still on the door handle, clenching it tight enough that it was starting to throb a little.

He didn’t move away from the door though.

Hakuryuu too didn’t move from where he was. He watched Gojyo as if waiting for something.

Gojyo swallowed. “How are you feeling?”

Hakuryuu stayed silent in one of those silence-before-talking things he did a lot. “I’m feeling fine, thank you.”

Gojyo nodded and looked across the room at the kitchen. God knew why he couldn’t look at the kid right now. Still, he opened his mouth and said it.

“Look er... your family must be worried by now. I haven’t even seen you call them since you got here. Since you’re feeling better, I think it’d be best if you headed out to see them today you know?”

Silence.

“You can take my clothes; you don’t have to worry about that. I’ll call you a cab and when you get there you can just er... I don’t know. Give me a call or something and let me know you got there alright.” As an after-thought he shrugged and added, “If you want I can even go with you and then you wouldn’t have to call back afterwards.”

Great. Now hadn’t that come out well? Gojyo wanted to smack his head on the door; however he managed to refrain since he didn’t think the moment called for it.

Some more silence. Gojyo was starting to feel pretty anti-silence.

“I take it back.”

The calm way Hakuryuu spoke made Gojyo look up at him.

Man those eyes. They were right on him again.

A smile—not such a nice one—curved Hakuryuu’s lips. “Some things are still the same. You’re still a stubborn fool.” And with that he turned his back on Gojyo and went into the room. He closed the door behind him.

Gojyo smacked his head on the door.

Then after a few seconds of glaring up at the ceiling, he went to call a cab.

~

Gojyo wondered how things could change so much in the space of three weeks.

He tugged his jacket on.

He needed a beer.

Dread was something solid in his stomach and he didn’t know how to get rid of it. Maybe if he just sat his ass down then it wouldn’t be there but he was too restless. The design had turned into something even less than he had expected and it lay on the table, discarded along with his tools which he’d been meaning to have fixed but hadn’t been bothered to.

He felt like shit. But he blamed that on the fact that he wasn’t sleeping. _Hadn’t_ been sleeping since a certain kid had left his house. Hakuryuu hadn’t bothered to call back. Whether he’d been smarting from Gojyo insisting he leave or whether he honestly had just been messing around with him, Gojyo didn’t know. And he didn’t want to think about it either. Because thinking about it made him think of the dreams and the dreams made him think of Hakuryuu and that just pissed him off.

He’d only known the kid one week. That was it. Why it had extended into all this crap he didn’t know.

God. He just needed a drink.

He grabbed his keys and got to the door, yanked it open.

And almost walked straight into Hakkai.

Gojyo stopped himself just in time and took a step back.

“Hey...” was the only thing that left his mouth, but anything that might have followed died a quick death at the sober look Hakkai was giving him.

“Hello Gojyo. We hadn’t heard from you again so we worried you were going back to your old ways. I was volunteered for the task of coming to see you because Sanzo threatened to crush you to pieces and Goku was too worried to eat—which means that if he came here himself, I don’t think you’d be able to show your face in public for a while. Not that it seems like you have any desire for interaction.” All this was said with a tone of ‘the calm before the storm’. Hakkai was good at it.

It was a struggle not to drop his gaze. “Hakkai, look—”

“But at the moment,” Hakkai cut him off, “I’m feeling a little upset myself. So I can’t guarantee I won’t lash out either.”

Shit he didn’t need this. He. Just. Needed. A. Drink.

“Look,” he tried again, “can we maybe just—talk about this another time—”

“No. We can’t.” That tone could shred through men bigger than Gojyo. The look got worse when Hakkai took in the jacket and keys. “Perhaps we can talk about this on the way to wherever it is that you’re going. Which is no doubt, the liquor store around the corner?”

At that Gojyo straightened, a snarl curling his lips. “I didn’t ask you to come here, man what the fuck—I can’t even go out on my own now? Just cut me a break, I don’t need this shit right now.”

“Gojyo.” Just two quiet little syllables. They managed to shut Gojyo up like nothing else would have. “I think you should think carefully about what you say to me right now. We have put up with this for a while now, and I think it’s safe to say that we won’t allow it to go on much longer.” Then Hakkai was reaching forward and snatching the keys out of Gojyo’s hand and turning to start back down the stairs. “Has Hakuryuu been in touch?”

“No.”

“Close the door. Sanzo and Goku are waiting for us. We’ll be having dinner with them. Then we’ll discuss Hakuryuu and you can decide where you want to take it from there.”

Gojyo watched Hakkai disappear down the stairs, heard his steps going down the steps and hovered in his doorway, feeling pissed off and frustrated all at once.

But as his shoulders sagged and he pulled the door shut behind him, he found that the feeling swelling to push the others aside was gut wrenching relief.

Following Hakkai, he started down the stairs too.

~

Gojyo woke up to more dreams. For a moment he didn’t feel like opening his eyes and finding nothing but the bedroom ceiling above him.

It was almost like the sensations from his dream had transferred out of them too. He could still feel the sharp bite on his shoulder, the rough sensation of skin that was both smooth and rough at times. Of a mouth wrapped around his cock and firm, knowing hands stilling his hips to keep him from bucking up into it. Gorgeous face, the eyes always the same colour except they seemed a little more demonic. The long hair would brush over his chest, his stomach, and sometimes his thighs. His ears, when Gojyo ghosted his fingers over them felt different and they called each other by different names. Gojyo could never recall what those names were.

Always the same scent.

It was all Hakuryuu though. Or a different version of him.

Gojyo forced himself to open his eyes, ignoring with a lot of difficulty the hard-on poking at the sheet twisted around him.

He knew that on the bedside table was the slip of paper that Hakkai had handed him. Trust Hakkai to do thorough background checks. On that slip of paper he had Hakuryuu’s address and number. It had been a few days since he’d gone out with Hakkai and had dinner out with his old friends. It had felt like ages since he’d done it and despite him thinking it wouldn’t make much difference, it had. Bickering with Goku, being threatened by Sanzo and having Hakkai mother hen them all had worked on him like a shot of brandy had never managed and he’d relaxed into the evening. By the time it had been over, the need for a drink had still been there but manageable—pushed back by the fact that there were still other ways for him to deal with things.

Pushing back the covers Gojyo swung his feet to the floor. He had to go pick his tools up from the repair shop and if he wasn’t there on time the old man would start griping.

He had a quick shower and chugged down coffee—his new best friend—and headed out. He was going to meet the guys again later on so the more work he could fit into one day the better.

The carving, he’d pushed with it and had managed to get it to take shape. It was turning into an impressive Chinese dragon if he did say so himself. He wanted to finish it by tomorrow the latest and then maybe start plans for a version of it on jade. He thought it would suit the pale green of the stone. He ignored the part of his brain that associated that too, with Hakuryuu. Anyone would think they’d been dating for years and Gojyo just couldn’t let go the way he was going on about it.

Although according to Hakuryuu they had been, hadn’t they? Well, not dating exactly, but still.

Gojyo scoffed and left his house, stepping out into the fresh air and noticing almost at once that familiar scent. A look up at the sky told him they’d probably have rain again.

He set off at a brisk pace and like he had been doing the last two weeks, pushed aside all thoughts of the weirdness of whatever it was, that had happened between him and Hakuryuu.

~

This time he wasn’t slumped on the doorstep.

Gojyo stopped at the gate to his place; tools tucked under his arm and stared.

It was dark under there. It was light enough that the automatic lights hadn’t come on outside but dark enough that the shadows had spread across the walls. A touch of the light inside showed through the distorted glass covering the doors so it took him the space of three steps to notice a dark shape standing against the weak glow of the lights.

He had the key ready between thumb and forefinger and looked up. At first he was just a dark shape leaning against the doors, but then with another step, the pale skin became noticeable as did the hand closed around the hilt of a long expensive looking umbrella. Gojyo almost thought it was a woman but the sharp edges of the fitted suit to a slim masculine form told him it wasn’t.

Gojyo paused and squinted until he noticed the light brown eyes focused on him. He allowed himself a quick moment to take in the hair sweeping down all the way to his hips in silvery strands before he returned his gaze to the eyes which had locked on him from the moment Gojyo had noticed his presence.

He looked good in a suit.

His mouth feeling dry, Gojyo started towards the entrance. He stopped just before the steps and looked up at him.

“Hey.” He said.

Hakuryuu nodded. “Hello.”

Gojyo rubbed his thumb over the ragged edge of the key. In truth, he hadn’t expected this.

Hakuryuu as always was quiet, calm, waiting.

Then Gojyo climbed the steps, he walked around Hakuryuu to the door, sliding the key in and walking inside. He toed off his shoes and left the door open.

Gojyo heard Hakuryuu follow behind him but headed into the kitchen. He’d picked up more coffee on the way because he’d been running out. A glance at the piece on the table told him he was going to need it.

Gojyo heard the door close and it was amazing how familiar those steps on the floor sounded. He wondered now if he’d grown used to them quickly because of what he’d already known—if he wasn’t as insane as he’d thought Hakuryuu was—or if he’d just grown attached to every little thing about the kid after so much time of being on his own.

He filled the kettle, the quiet rush of the water filling the kitchen for a few brief seconds before he shut the tap and set the kettle to boil.

When he turned around, Hakuryuu was at the table, hair spilling forward and hiding his face from Gojyo’s view. His fingers were moving over the curling body of the dragon that Gojyo had already set into the wood. He watched as Hakuryuu traced his fingertips, feeling the ridges of the bumps on it. He hadn’t gotten to adding the details of the skin yet, Gojyo mused.

“You look... younger.” Gojyo found himself saying and dropped his gaze to the floor. “And a lot more frail... than you did.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hakuryuu lift his head and look over at him. “Before.” He added, knowing how ‘before’ would be interpreted.

The kettle began to boil and the steam started hissing out of it.

Hakuryuu stared at him, another one of his peculiar silences. Then he reached for the chair, the one that Gojyo usually sat in while working and pulled it back, sitting down on it. His hands tucked into his pockets as he crossed his leg over the other.

If Gojyo had thought he’d looked regal before, this just outlined it. He looked at home in the fitted suit, as if he’d been wearing them his entire life and he wore it with an elegance that not many could pull off. His hair was pulled back at the nape but swept over the back of the chair, looking clean and gleaming under the light.

“I think... or I’m sure—that in my past life—I died of a certain illness.” Hakuryuu lifted a shoulder and dropped it back, the gesture almost sheepish. “I can’t say for sure as I don’t remember too much about that. I do recall knowing that the end was near though.” He looked up at Gojyo. “I’m not sick now but I think my body sometimes... echoes what it remembers from that time. And I end up as I did, when you first met me here.”

Farfetched. But then again, hadn’t Gojyo started to believe in it a little bit himself? If he hadn’t then he wouldn’t have said what he just had, and Hakuryuu probably wouldn’t even be there now.

That seemed to be the end of any other conversation though. Gojyo didn’t know what to say right then.

So when he spoke, he was surprised when he said exactly what he’d wanted to say.

“What is it exactly that you want from me?” He asked.

Hakuryuu leaned back in the chair and narrowed his eyes on him. “I’m here because your friend got in contact with me and told me that maybe you had some things you might like to share with me.”

Gojyo blinked at him. “Hakkai did?”

Hakuryuu nodded. Just once. “But to answer your question...” Hakuryuu looked back down at the dragon on the table. He reached for it again and began to retrace its lines. “What can you give me...? Seeing as you now seem to believe that I wasn’t lying before.”

Gojyo closed his eyes and leaned back against the counter.

“You’re a kid.” Gojyo muttered.

“I’m eighteen. And wiser than the majority of humans.”

There was definitely a trace of arrogance in that and Gojyo blinked his eyes back open at the ‘humans’ bit, but all Hakuryuu did was give him a small close lipped smile.

Gojyo remembered that smile too, both from the time Hakuryuu had spent at his home but also from the other Hakuryuu. The one that Gojyo had... known before.

He remembered wanting to kiss it whenever he’d that same smile.

“All right.” Straightening away from the counter Gojyo walked to the table until he was standing close enough that Hakuryuu had to tilt his head back to look up at him. He swallowed down the unexpected nerves that stared crawling up his throat.

He stared into that colour that he’d become more than a little obsessed with.

“Then kiss me again.”

~

It was just meant to be a kiss. But it didn’t end up that way though.

Incredible.

It was incredible.

It shocked him though, when Hakuryuu just pushed him back down on the bed and reached behind him, firmly grasping Gojyo’s cock in his hand, pumping once and making Gojyo bite into his bottom lip, back arching as the pleasure shot into his stomach.

His eyes wanted to close but damn—it was one of the most gorgeous things Gojyo had ever seen. Hakuryuu’s hair was spilling over his shoulders, brushing over Gojyo’s legs as he rocked himself against Gojyo’s stomach. Gojyo reached for him, fingers digging bruises into Hakuryuu’s sweat dampened skin, urging Hakuryuu to rub himself against him harder.

He looked down to see Hakuryuu’s swollen cock leaking onto his stomach and a grin slashed across Gojyo’s face. He reached down and wrapped his hand around it, giving it a brief squeeze as he slid his other hand around to Hakuryuu’s ass and urged him to move into his hand.

“Does it feel good?”

Hakuryuu’s mouth had fallen open, his head hanging low. He gave a frantic nod and Gojyo heard him gasp for more air. That got Gojyo even more pent up for it. He sat up, thigh muscles flexing under Hakuryuu’s weight. He tugged Hakuryuu to him and let go of his cock when he felt it cock press tight against between their stomachs.

“Yeah...” Gojyo nodded, cupped the back of his throat and pressed his face to Hakuryuu’s shoulder, opening his mouth and sucking on Hakuryuu’s throat. “God— _yeah_...” he thrust up against Hakuryuu, muffled a groan against his throat and did it again.

Then Hakuryuu was pushing his hands between them and putting some space between them.  
“Wha—” Gojyo began but then he was cut off when Hakuryuu lifted himself up. “Hey... what are you—”

Hakuryuu went up on his knees and once again reached for Gojyo, only this time, when his hand wrapped around him he placed himself right over it until Gojyo could feel the head of his dick pressing against the taut bundle of muscles between Hakuryuu’s cheeks.

Panic grabbed him for a moment. “Wait, not like—”

He didn’t get to finish because Hakuryuu shoved down. _Hard_. A harsh cry left Hakuryuu and Gojyo moved his hands up to cup his jaw. “Shit, shit—why did you do it like that?” He groaned the words out. The friction had been too much on the edge of painful but the tightness was unbelievable and he could feel the muscles fluttering around him, trying to adjust to the invasion.

Hakuryuu’s fingers were trembling a littlewhen they moved to Gojyo’s shoulders. His nails dug in deep but Gojyo hardly felt it.

Hakuryuu looked up at Gojyo; face still cupped in Gojyo’s hands. He gave him one of those small smiles and panted. “I’m sorry. I got impatient.” He said.

“Yeah—idiot.” Gojyo pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, forcing his hips to just stay still and not push for more yet. He took in Hakuryuu’s smell, shuddered against him again and then—groaned once more when Hakuryuu rocked his hips and took him deeper.

“ _Shit_ —”

He felt Hakuryuu’s arms, sticky and tight close around him. He moved again.

Fuck yes.

Gojyo started moving with him, slow at first and then thrusting up into Hakuryuu harder. His hands smoothed back down over Hakuryuu’s back, clenching in that incredible hair, thrusting up—letting go and gripping his ass—thrusting again, bringing him down harder and harder. He could hear Hakuryuu panting in his ear.

“Gojyo...”

That was it. That was what pushed him. He’d never heard him say his name. And said in that voice, with his body clenching him tight—Gojyo brought him down one last time, ground his hips against his ass as his body locked and he bucked up into him, gasping and groaning as he came.

And then Hakuryuu’s arms were tightening even more and he was biting into Gojyo’s shoulder, sharp and hard and coming with his cock pressed between both their stomachs. He tightened around Gojyo’s softening cock, drawing out a weak moan from Gojyo even as Hakuryuu coated both their bellies in strings of come. As Hakuryuu started shiveroing, Gojyo felt the moment that Hakuryuu stopped holding himself upright as he slumped against Gojyo. Hakuryuu didn’t even pull his arms away or try to ease himself off of Gojyo.

Gojyo leaned back against the headboard with him still in his lap and let his own head fall back against it as he breathed, chest heaving and pressing against Hakuryuu’s every time. His eyes slid closed.

“We’re going to have to get cleaned up...” he murmured, already zoning out.

“Of course.” Hakuryuu said, nodding against Gojyo’s shoulder. “But perhaps we could give it a few minutes.”

Gojyo chuckled. “Yeah. That would be good.”

~

It was the phone that woke Gojyo up.

He jerked his head up off the pillow, waking up too fast and leaving his mind reeling to catch up for a moment or two as he stared through blurred eyes at the dark wall of his bedroom.

At his back he could feel someone breathing softly onto the nape of his neck. There were arms wrapped around him and a chest rising and falling quietly against his back.

Gojyo twisted his head to look behind him and saw Hakuryuu’s face relaxed in sleep.

The phone rang again.

Gojyo carefully pulled Hakuryuu’s arms from around his chest and sat up, grabbed up the jeans that had been tossed earlier on the ground and stepped into them before going into the living room for the phone.

It was cold outside the bed. He rubbed at the goose bumps breaking out all over his arms as he pressed the answering button and put the phone to his ear. “Hello?” His voice came our hoarse from sleep and he aimed a look up at the kitchen to see if he could make out the time on the clock.

“Gojyo.”

Hakkai. With a scary tone.

“Er... what’s up?”

“Why don’t you tell me?”

“Erm.” He scratched his head and started making his way back to the bedroom. He was freezing his balls off.

“Is there a reason why you’re not here? Goku is threatening to eat the centre piece on the table and Sanzo is losing his temper while trying to keep him from doing it.”

“Oh. Er—well, you see...” he stopped in the doorway and saw that Hakuryuu had wrapped his arms around Gojyo’s pillow. Gojyo couldn’t help the smug smile. “Well... thanks to you a certain someone paid me an unexpected visit.”

“Oh. Well.”

And now Gojyo heard the change. He was pretty sure Hakkai was doing his version of a smug smile himself right at that moment. “In that case I’ll placate Goku by telling him he can have a go at the centre piece and try to calm down Sanzo’s rage.”

Gojyo scratched at is stomach absently and laughed. “Yeah? I owe you one man.”

He watched as Hakuryuu opened his eyes and zeroed in on him straight away.

There was a pause on the other side of the line and then Hakkai finally spoke again. “I’m glad for you Gojyo.”

At that Gojyo’s smile softened. He walked towards the bed. “Thanks... me too.”

“I’ll let you go then. Goodnight.”

“‘Night.” He hung up and tossed the phone towards the end of the bed as he sat down.

Hakuryuu removed one hand from the pillow and reached for Gojyo’s wrist, tugging on it a little.

“Are you going back to work already?” He asked.

Gojyo shook his head and rolled onto his side. “No. Tomorrow—I’ll do it tomorrow.”

Hakuryuu nodded and catching Gojyo’s chin, pulled him closer.

“Good.”


End file.
